+ From: Architexturez-IN <admin-in@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
+ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:55:29 +0530
In an eerie echo of the slum clearance projects of the 1960s, government
officials are once again denying that these projects and communities can
be salvaged through a human, incremental approach to planning. For them,
only demolition will do.
The difference between then and now is what will exist once the land is cleared. If the urban renewal projects of the 1960s replaced decaying historic neighborhoods with vast warehouses for the poor, HUD’s vision would yield saccharine, suburban-style houses. And the situation is likely to get worse. The government has identified some other historically important public buildings for demolition as part of its push for privatization. Charity Hospital, an Art Deco structure built downtown in the late 1930s, was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, and its fate is uncertain.
The Thomas Lafon Elementary School, a sleek Modernist structure from the 1950s, is destined for the wrecking ball. And there has been talk of tearing down the Andrew J. Bell Junior High School, an elegant French neo-Gothic building completed in the late 19th century.
Blow after blow, in the name of progress. Cast as the city’s saviors, architects are being used to compound one of the greatest crimes in American urban planning.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/arts/design/19hous.html?_r=2&ref=design&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
The difference between then and now is what will exist once the land is cleared. If the urban renewal projects of the 1960s replaced decaying historic neighborhoods with vast warehouses for the poor, HUD’s vision would yield saccharine, suburban-style houses. And the situation is likely to get worse. The government has identified some other historically important public buildings for demolition as part of its push for privatization. Charity Hospital, an Art Deco structure built downtown in the late 1930s, was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, and its fate is uncertain.
The Thomas Lafon Elementary School, a sleek Modernist structure from the 1950s, is destined for the wrecking ball. And there has been talk of tearing down the Andrew J. Bell Junior High School, an elegant French neo-Gothic building completed in the late 19th century.
Blow after blow, in the name of progress. Cast as the city’s saviors, architects are being used to compound one of the greatest crimes in American urban planning.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/arts/design/19hous.html?_r=2&ref=design&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
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Partial thread listing:
- [in-enaction] in New Orleans: Architects used to compound crimes...., Architexturez-IN
- [in-enaction] innocence: Ex-N.Y. Architect goes to Dharavi, Architexturez.
- [in-enaction] innovation: Instant Emergency Shelter, Just Add Water, Architexturez.
- [in-enaction] in-our-mailbox: Mega-Cities "Innovations for Urban Life", Architexturez. (2006-01-31)
- Re: [in-enaction] in-our-mailbox: Mega-Cities "Delhi==Slum" (!), Architexturez.